speed of movement in signs

[Rachel Channon]

I think there are two interesting questions here.
A. First, are differences in speed a REGULAR means of distinguishing signs
in any sign language? It seems to me that a single example, such as ARRIVE
and PROVE, although interesting, does not by itself show that the
distinction exists.  If this is the only example in the language, the most
reasonable assumption is that there is probably some other factor involved
(perhaps iconicity or emphasis).  Or it might even be a case of homonyms,
where there is no underlying distinction between the two forms. Any
distinction that is significant in a language should also be reasonably
common, otherwise how could a child be expected to learn it?

B. The second question is whether there are any sign languages which have
minimal pairs that differ only in the speed of a PART of the sign.  For
example, imagine a set of signs which contact the ear, mouth and chest.
Sign A moves quickly between the ear and mouth and then at normal speed
between mouth and chest.  Sign B moves at normal speed throughout.  Sign C
moves slowly between ear and mouth and at normal speed from mouth to chest.
And so on....

In my (just finished) dissertation, I provided a number of arguments to show
that a sign must be represented as a single unordered segment with dynamic
features (such as direction or repetition).  Although I did not discuss the
issue in detail, my model also requires that there cannot be signs with
differences of the type discussed in B.  Signs of type A, with an overall or
global difference in speed, could occur.  They would have to be handled with
a feature such as [tense] or [fast]. However, my guess is that this feature
does not occur, because it is pre-empted by the use of speed for emphasis.
Rachel Channon